THREE DAYS OF CREATINE NOT EFFECTIVE FOR IMPROVING A SINGLE 30 s EFFORT

Odland, L. M., MacDougall, J. D., Tarnopolsky, M. A., Elorriaga, A., & Borgmann, A. (1997). Effect of oral creatine supplementation on muscle [PCr] and short-term maximum power output. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29, 216-219.

Males (N = 9) underwent three randomly ordered tests following ingestion of creatine, a placebo, and a no-ingestion control. Creatine supplementation consisted of 20 gm per day for three days. The tests, each 14 days apart and after each condition, consisted of a 30 s maximal cycling (Wingate) task. Needle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis during each condition to assess resting PCr.

It was found that three days of creatine supplementation did not increase resting muscle PCr nor did it affect the single short-term maximal cycling performance.

Implication. Creatine supplementation for three days did not affect a 30-second explosive performance nor did it increase resting PCr concentration.

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